


Aspen Wars

by Angelleap77



Series: In All The Wrong Places [1]
Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: Abuse, Blood and Gore, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-11-23 17:00:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18154586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelleap77/pseuds/Angelleap77
Summary: A chaotic series of events is about to rock the world of the trolls. (will be spanning at least a 20 year time frame in the first part) Tags will change along with archive warnings as story progresses. Main pairings won't show up till at least part 2 of this series.





	1. Prologue

Many ages ago, trolls ruled the world. Their numbers were in the millions worldwide. For the longest time, there wasn't too many threats, that was until the Bergen's came. None of the trolls knew where they came from, they just knew that one day they weren't there and the next, they were. At first the Bergen's weren't much of a threat to them, but that changed quickly as the Bergen numbers went from less than a couple hundred to easily over a couple thousand within a few years. The massive colonies the trolls once enjoyed were now in danger, having been discovered by the Bergen's. For a short time, the Bergen's just found the trolls annoying with all their singing and dancing, but one day, they decided to try a different method. One of the Bergen's swallowed one of the trolls and discovered a happiness unlike anything they had ever felt in their lives. This was the start of the chaos that troll-kind would know for the rest of their lives.

Finding out about this new happiness, the Bergen's spread it around to all the other colonies of their own kind, making sure to reach as many as they could with this new knowledge. At first, the trolls that were feasted on by the Bergen's were only one gender, females. They thought maybe if they could reduce the number of female trolls, they could control the population enough that it wouldn't get out of hand for them. They didn't realize that even male trolls were capable of bearing children. The trolls were lucky on that area, having safety in the realization that both male and female trolls could produce trollings.

The trolls, soon realizing that their over-sized colonies were creating problems for them, decided to separate into smaller colonies. They scattered into different directions, each colony containing no less than 100 trolls, but no more than 1000. They figured if they could maintain manageable numbers, they would have little issues with hiding from anything that wanted to eat them. Some colonies went towards the mountains, some into the lower valleys, others towards the oceans, and still others into deeper forested areas.

As the number of threats to troll-kind increased, the number of trolls decreased substantially. The once millions of trolls around the world dropped to under a million, forcing them to try to once again come together in one giant colony. Some of the colonies felt the pull to go towards the north-east mountain range. A couple of the seer's among their colonies had seen visions of a massive valley with resources to last them for hundreds of years and had little to no predators of any kind. Even Bergen's would be unable to get inside this valley and that was the main thing that drew the trolls towards it.

As of the Age 625, there was only 30 colonies of trolls still in existence, only consisting of a total of 700,000 trolls, merely a fraction of the numbers they once had. Over the course of the next 40 years, several colonies found their way to the valley in the mountains, but several others had yet to reach it. Two such colonies were led by King Aspen and his mate Queen Cherry, and the other led by King Peppy and his mate Queen Penelope. Each of their colonies consisted of no more than 300-400 trolls at most, but even with such low numbers, they were still under constant attack by Bergen's. King Aspen was moving his colony east towards the mountains, being very cautious as he did so. It was now Day 300 of Age 670 and his mate was heavy with pod. He didn't want to stress her out, but he didn't want her caught and eaten either.

Some miles away in King Peppy's colony, his own mate was also with pod and was due at any time. She was already close to 4 months along, so technically she still had a couple months to go, but she was stressed out from all the recent attacks on their colony. King Peppy had moved everyones flower pods to higher level branches in the trees so they were out of reach of any Bergen's, but he was still worried for their safety, knowing they still had to go down to the ground to look for food and water each day to keep themselves supplied. With Bergen attacks being so frequent, they couldn't afford to take chances.

The two colonies were roughly 30 miles apart, still fairly close considering how quickly Bergen's could travel and how far they could go because of their size in the duration of one day, but would take a couple days travel for any of the trolls. King Peppy and King Aspen had been keeping in contact via firefly for the last 6 years ever since their first meeting, planning to eventually meet up if possible. It was time they joined together and they both knew it, but only time and circumstances would tell if things would go according to plan.

...  
Prologue up. :) Let me know what you think. At this point, Branch, Poppy, and all the others are not yet born but will be over the first couple chapters. :)


	2. chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aspen decides to create a temporary home to allow those having pods to relax a bit.

Almost 2 months went by, a total of 50 days, 10 days shy of the expected delivery time of Queen Cherry's pod to emerge. King Aspen, seeing how tired his mate was becoming as well as others in his colony that were soon to have their own pods, decided that stopping for a time was in order. It had been almost a week now with no signs of Bergen's or Tokami, the large forest cats that prowled the region and preyed on trolls. For the safety of his colony, he decided it in their best interest to build their temporary home in the higher level branches of the trees. The large oak and birch trees of the area provided ample cover for their pods and the mushrooms that spiraled up the trees and around them gave them an easy way to get up the trees without falling or risking their lives. 

Queen Cherry was clearly exhausted. She had been checked over by the medical trolls several times over the last couple months, and according to each of them, they only could feel a single trolling. The size of the trolling was scaring them a bit. They were worried that the pod might be too large for the queen to deliver on her own. There were several trolls in the colony that were larger than average size, but all of them had to be delivered via C-section. Their pods had simply been too large for the mothers to deliver them on their own. For now, it appeared that the pod was still small enough to deliver normally, but they wanted to monitor her progress over the next few days just to be sure. Technically, the queen was still 10 days from her due date, but with the size of the pod, they were under the impression it could be sooner. 

It took the small colony the better part of 7 hours to complete a large structure in the canopy of the massive trees, a structure large enough for most of them to live in comfortably. Several smaller pods were attached along the edges. They housed the medical and spiritual trolls of the colony. Another small pod was set up to handle their medical supplies and food stock. Further away but still part of the main structure was another pod designed to hold the colonies firefly's and dragonflies, their typical mail delivery bugs. The new medical pod was perched on its own limb because of the size of it, situated just off to one side of the main structure. It was large enough to handle 20 trolls at any single time but no more than that. Any more than 20 and it could easily compromise the stability of the pod and the limbs that supported it. 

King Aspen wanders into the office of the new main structure and sits down at a hand-carved desk that was part of the tree itself. He grabs some paper and his quill pen and starts writing to King Peppy explaining their current situation. 'King Peppy, I wanted to inform you that as of right now, we are settling down into a temporary home. It could be quite some time before we see each other. Circumstances have given us a good chance to settle down for the moment, also spurred by the approaching due date of my child's birth as well as those of several of my colony citizens. We know not when we will meet up with you, if we ever get the chance. We have had good favor this past week and have had no signs of Bergen's or any other predators. We have taken refuge in some tall oak and birch trees just west of the Delkara River. Not entirely certain how far that is from your location, but we will likely be staying here a while. I hope to someday meet you my friend, but if by some act beyond our control we cannot, I wish you good fortune in reaching the valley. It is our eventual goal, but for now, we plan to wait a while and give our people a chance to rest and have their children. Many of my citizens are with pod and are due any day now. Keep in touch my friend. I wish you well until then.'

Once the letter was ready, King Aspen rolls it up and attaches it to one of the fastest dragonflies in their delivery group and sends it off to King Peppy's colony. It only took the dragonfly a couple hours to reach the other colony, startling many of the trolls there with its fast entrance into the region. King Peppy glances up when several members of his colony scatter from a large red and black dragonfly. He glances down at the letter hanging by a ribbon from the dragonfly's neck and carefully retrieves it. He reads through it and sighs, understanding the need for the stop. His own mate, Queen Penelope, was soon to have her pod as well. At least 10% of his colony was with pod or caring for young trollings, many of which had been born during their journey East. He quickly makes a reply letter telling them of their own plans to stop in the Kintara Valley, 25 miles East of the Delkara River. There was plenty of tall trees, food, and water to last them here for many years, so there was no immediate need to leave it. They too had seen no signs of Bergens for at least a week or more, but like Aspen's colony, they had built their new pods in the highest trees for safety reasons.

For the next few days, things settled down in both colonies, that was until just after midnight on Mid-winter Day. The day was heralded in by the rise of a rare blue moon, the first blue moon on Mid-Winter Day in over 60 years. Queen Cherry let out a shriek of pain as she woke up all of a sudden, not expecting to wake up in that level of pain. Her pod technically wasn't due for another few days, but she was fairly certain this pod was ready to emerge now. Making her way to the medical pod, she was helped along by Aspen and several of the medical trolls and guards. They get her inside the medical pod as quickly as they could, seeing she was already getting close to delivering. "I guess this baby wanted to be born on mid winter.. go figure." She pants a bit as she lays down on the bed. Within a short 20 minutes, her pod was free of her body and being dried off by the medic. They pass the gorgeous 3 toned blue pod over to the queen and watch as the birthing slit seals over. 

The pod twists a bit before slowly opening, revealing a small male troll in the colors of teal blue with royal blue hair. As he opens his eyes, it reveals gorgeous cerulean blue irises to anyone looking. His royal blue hair seemed to be extended backwards, filling up the inside of the pod. Aspen looks over and smiles gently at his son. "Theres my Branch, my firstborn son." He raises an eye slightly when Branch shifts a bit and retracts his hair, showing an identical twin sibling behind him, safely curled up in his brothers hair and clinging to him lightly. "Twins? Well, we were not expecting that."

Queen Cherry glances between the two and shakes her head. "No, we definitely were not expecting twins. I think the twin looks like a summer sky. Sky seems like a good name to me." Aspen nods in agreement. "My boys, Prince Branch and Prince Sky, welcome to the world." The twins look over at him and Cherry with matching expressions of confusion and curiosity about who they were. Sky was the first to giggle at the pair while Branch seemed quieter, more skeptical of the two holding them so closely. His skeptical attitude and protective streak would prove to be most useful when he gets older.

...  
Boop... Branch and Sky have made the scene!!! YAYYYYYY :D


	3. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Peppy's colony welcomes its newest additions. Trouble approaches the Aspen colony.

Within hours of the birth of Branch and Sky, King Aspen was sending another message to King Peppy, informing him of their births. He didn't want to leave anything to chance when it came to keeping in constant communication. At least with King Peppy aware of everything going on over here, if anything bad should happen to them, King Peppy would know who was there, how many was there, if there was an heir, their gender and age, and so on. This would safely ensure that should the colony meet up with King Peppy and his colony later, even if he wasn't with them, the colony would still be taken in and protected.

Within a few days of King Aspen sending the message, he received his own message. He retrieves it from the dragonfly and opens it up. "King Aspen, we wanted to formally congratulate you on the birth of not one, but 2 heirs to your family line. We in turn would like to announce the arrival of our own heir, born just this morning shortly after dawn. We were blessed with a beautiful daughter that we have named Poppy. Several others in our colony also had their babies and as such, our numbers of 400 has increased by 20 since the last count was made. We wish we could be there to celebrate with you on the birth of Branch and Sky, but unfortunately we are unable to make the trip because of our own children being born at this time. Hopefully one day they can all meet. We also were graced with a couple new members who claim they came from your colony. They go by the names Midgie and Coral. I am pleased to inform you that Midgie, shortly after her arrival here, gave birth to a healthy dwarf baby boy who she has named Jadice. Coincidentally, Jadice is the same physical size as a member of my own colony named Smidge. Her parents were lost to the Bergen's shortly after her birth and before our arrival to this area. We were luckily able to save her, but her parents were lost to us. We will take good care of your colony members until we manage to meet you, if ever that happens. With winter time upon us now, travel would be extremely risky, so please do not put yourselves in danger by attempting to travel at this time. We will find a safe time to meet if possible. Until then, stay safe my friend."

King Aspen grins slightly and nods, knowing that several of his colony members wanted to go meet up with King Peppy and his group. Now however was not the time, King Peppy was right about that. Traveling during the winter months was too risky, not just because of snowed over hazards and predators, but also hypothermia could easily set in for any of them. They definitely did not want to risk losing anyone by doing anything stupid. Setting the letter down, he goes over the list that one of the medics had recently brought to him of all the births within the last couple days. He looks over the list carefully, seeing many male children on the list. "Awkward, so many boys. Laurel, Citirine, Jade, Oak, Sage... " He sighs slightly before adding the other names to the list. "Jadice, Sky, and Branch. Way too many boys. We need some female trollings around here, unless these boys have plans to mate with other males." He shudders at the idea behind that. Granted, he had nothing against 2 males being mates, but the idea of so many of them being that way because of lack of options for mates didn't sit well with him. It certainly didn't sit well with him that his own sons might wind up becoming mates to other males when they get older as well. He was hoping to change that.

Over in King Peppy's colony, he was having the opposite issue. Instead of a ton of males born, he was having a rush of females. He looks over the large list of trollings that had been born aside from Poppy. "Let's see here... Strawberry, Peaches, Amber, Daisy, Creek, Stream, River, Hickory, Shimmer, Ruby, Lilac, Missy, Penny, Sapphire, Topaz, Pebbles, Skittles, Pip, Goldie, and Silverstream. Wow, quite the group and mostly girls. I really hope that Aspen's colony wound up having a bunch of boys to make up the difference." He sets the list down and looks over at his mate. She wasn't doing very well, having been sick at the time of delivery, and now was worse than before. Peppy was worried that Penelope would not survive long and was doing everything he could to make sure she was warm and comfortable. He sits down beside her, taking her frail hand into his. "Lots of babies born my love. I really hope you can be here to see them all grow up. I love you so much and would hate to lose you. Know this though, you're the only one for me. I likely will never take another mate if anything happens to you. I don't think my heart could bear breaking twice in this manner."

Queen Penelope glances over at him and smiles slightly. "I don't think I can hang on love. As much as I would love to be here with you, I have been sick for too long. You know this and there is nothing that can be done. The doctors warned us that having a baby could result in my death, but I wanted to give you a child, even if it was my last gift to you before leaving this world into the next. Take care of our little Poppy. She will need you and so will the colony." She coughs violently a moment before shuddering a bit. "I will look after you from the next world." She gulps slightly as Peppy kisses her for the last time, taking in her last breath as she loses her fight to live.

Over the next hour, a funeral was handled for the late queen, placing her to rest under a nearby weeping willow tree, a very fitting resting place for one that was so loved and will be truly missed. The new trollings didn't understand what was going on, but could easily tell that something wasn't right. King Peppy was trying to be strong for Poppy and the colony, but hints of gray still marked his hair as a sign that he was still affected by the loss.

Over by Aspen's colony, a different kind of problem was starting up. A rogue trolling named Wasp was out alone. She was only 10 years old, only daughter to parents Bumble and Bee. Her parents had been extremely abusive towards her, as did her colony members. They called her hideous and worthless, saying she should have been born male to even be worth the trouble to keep and raise. She essentially had to raise herself for the last 3 years. Her colony of less than 200 at the time had dropped to just her very quickly, falling victim to fury itself. With Wasp being just a child, nobody would suspect anything.. right? That's what she was hoping at least. She easily could make up a story and say she managed to escape a Bergen raid. She figured it would be believable enough. Getting to the edge of Aspen's colony, she looks around to see who was out. She noticed the structure way up in the tallest trees and raises an eye at it. Her clothes were torn in various areas and she had cuts and scrapes, all self inflicted. She wanted to make it look like she had been through hell and back in order to live up to the story she would tell them. Grinning to herself, she makes her way into the area just below the large trees.

...  
NEXT!!  
FYI.. Strawberry, Peaches, Amber, Daisy, River, Shimmer, Ruby, Lilac, Missy, Penny, Sapphire, Topaz, Pebbles, Skittles, Pip, and Silverstream are all females. Creek, Stream, Hickory, and Goldie are all boys. Creek and Stream of course are twins (only difference is the hair colors are reversed). Pip and Goldie are twins, Strawberry and Peaches are also twins. Silverstream, Goldie, Shimmer, Ruby, and Amber are all glitter trolls.


	4. chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new addition to the Aspen colony causes some issues

Wasp gently inches towards the bottom of the tree, pretending to be in a lot of pain from her self-inflicted injuries. She wanted to play up the appearance of the injuries as much as possible to try to gain the trust of this new colony. For being 10 years old, she was very manipulative and conniving, knowing how to make things look like accidents or make herself look like an innocent victim. She was the one responsible for the death of her entire colony, but of course she didn't want anyone else to know that. If they asked, she would say the Bergen's got to them.

Her inattention to her surroundings causes one of Aspen's colony members time to approach without her knowing it, grabbing her by the wrist and getting a loud scream from the girl. The scout cringes at the volume before trying to calm her down. "It's okay, you're okay. I didn't mean to scare ya, but what are you doing out here all alone? Bergen's scout the surrounding areas. It's not safe out here alone." The scout glances around seeing nobody else except his own colony members who had come over to investigate the scream.

Wasp looks up at the maroon colored male and sniffles. "I'm all alone. My entire colony is gone, taken by Bergen's. I barely managed to get away." She looks at all the unfamiliar faces, grateful that none of them were recognizable. Last thing she wanted was for someone to recognize her and give it away that she was dangerous. "I have nowhere to go. Can... can I stay here?" She looks up at the scout with a pleading face, hoping he would agree.

The scout sighs a moment seeing the look. He had 2 kids of his own, so he knew that a lone trolling out there alone wouldn't survive without help. He perks up when King Aspen approaches from behind. The King had overheard what the girl said and looks her over with a skeptical eye seeing the injuries and messy clothes. Giving a nod to the scout, the King steps away again leaving the scout to tend to the girl. "That's our king, King Aspen. Seems he has given the okay for you so let's get you to the medical pod and get you tended to okay?" He leads her gently up the tree to where the pods were and into the medical pod. Many of the colony members look wary of the girl since they didn't know her, but seeing as how she was just a child, they didn't think she could be much trouble.

Within a few days of the girl arriving, she pretty much had convinced everyone that she was just a lucky kid who had managed to escape a Bergen raid. There was only a couple that didn't believe her and they were close to the same age she was. They didn't like her, didn't trust her, and got weird vibes whenever they were around her. They weren't spiritual trolls but they had a feeling this girl wasn't telling the truth. Trying to explain that to adults however was never easy. Most of the adults believed what they saw rather than going on gut feelings. Gut feelings in the past for them only ever caused misunderstandings and stress, two things that a colony trying to survive didn't need or want. They had enough stress as it was, keeping an eye open for any threats heading their way.

Wasp glances around as her and a few others head to the ground to gather supplies. She had decided to scout the area, choosing her next course of action in the process. She peeks around and spots a fast flowing river close to the woods, partly concealed on one end by thick brush and trees. She groans a moment as the kids that didn't trust her start following her. To make it seem like she was behaving, she started picking blackberries and blueberries that were on the bushes heading down to the rivers edge. A couple of the kids were called back by their parents, but one followed Wasp all the way down to the waters edge, insisting on keeping close eyes on the girl. He didn't trust her at all, having a feeling that her story she had told them all was bogus. Wasp, seeing her chance, pretends to fall and scrapes her knee on a rock. The boy following her goes over to see if she was alright, only to get smacked in the head by a rock that Wasp had in her hands and gets pushed into the river water.

The boy, terrified by the rushing water, starts flailing and trying to reach the shore again. The strength of the water kept dragging him under, keeping him from reaching Wasp who was simply standing there watching instead of trying to help him. An evil smirk was on her face as she waved bye to the boy, seeing his terrified look moments before the current dragged him down for good. Seeing her chance now, she gets herself wet really quick and starts screaming for help, alerting a couple adults a ways off to her situation. She whimpers when they approach, telling them a sob story of how she was picking berries and the boy slipped and fell in the river while trying to help her. She goes on to tell them that she tried to help him but he was out of her reach before he was finally taken down by the rivers strong current. 

The adults spend a couple hours searching the edge of the river before finally finding the boy a mile downstream on the embankment, dead from drowning and covered in thick cuts from the sharp rocks in the river. Moss clung to his hair and clothes as they carried him back towards the village. A small funeral was arranged to bury the boy, the first of many tragedies to come. Off to one side, Wasp was plotting who to take out next. She had her sights set on the other kids who didn't trust her at the moment, but how to take them out without raising suspicions on her would be tricky. She obviously would have to wait a while before making her next move. Too many deaths in too short a time frame would definitely raise suspicions and she didn't want to risk being caught, if ever.

...  
Poor kid.. and no, I didn't give him a name because of the idea that he wouldn't live long lol


	5. chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another casualty hits the Aspen colony. word spreads to King Peppy's colony as a precaution.

It had been a month since the first tragedy at the Aspen colony. Wasp had bided her time, waiting for the right moment to strike again. The remaining kids who didn't trust her had been watching her like a hawk. Those same kids had even warned King Aspen of their suspicions, but because they were unable to prove anything, he dismissed them and told them that he needed proof before blaming anyone. He couldn't just take the word of a couple of kids, all because they didn't like the new girl. He needed concrete proof to their claims, otherwise he could be accusing an innocent child.

Wasp was trying to avoid the kids. She didn't like them and knew they were on to her. What she found to be an upside was the idea they all belonged to the same family. They had informed their parents of their suspicions too, but like King Aspen, they wanted proof of guilt before pointing fingers. They did watch the girl though, just in case their kids were actually telling the truth. They had come to trust their kids on most things, but sometimes what the kids told them didn't always add up. Watching the girl was the best option to see if any behavior seemed out of character.

Wasp had asked to live alone a month prior. She had been out on her own since her supposed escape from the clutches of the Bergen's and wanted to remain alone. This way, she could also plot without anyone realizing what she was up to. She had learned extensively about herbs and various other wild plants over a short amount of time, even finding a plant which was poisonous when consumed but had no flavor when combined with other things. She glances around her kitchen before her eyes finally settle on her mixing bowls and cake mixes. "Perfect. I'll just make them a cake. Take out that whole family in one swoop. They won't suspect a cake. They're too stupid to think a child would actually poison them." 

An evil smirk crosses her face as she gets to work mixing up a chocolate cake batter and mixing the herbs into it. A small amount of the herbs would make them all super sick, but a slightly larger amount would kill them, causing them to hemorrhage and bleed out. Luckily the herb had a delayed reaction, not taking effect immediately but rather over the course of a few hours. The family would likely be in bed asleep when the effects hit, killing them while they slept. It took slightly under an hour before the cake was removed from the oven. Setting it aside to cool, Wasp preps the icing for it, lacing it with liquid poison that would act as a catalyst for the herb, making it more potent than it typically would be alone. She mixes it with chocolate icing to cover up the slightly weird flavor of the liquid, knowing the chocolate would cover it up fairly effectively. She disposes of the vial that contained the poison right after she was done with it, making sure it was destroyed so nobody could trace it back to her. The remainder of the herbs used in the cake were disposed of as well, flushed down the toilet so nobody could find them.

She returns to the kitchen and cleans everything up. Turning to her cake, she checks the coolness and then proceeds to put the icing on the cake and setting it nearby to finish setting up. She cleans up everything completely, not even risking the chance that someone may come in and find something out of place that could reveal her plans. Picking up the cake, she settles it into a box for transport and walks over to the pod where the other kids and their parents lived. She knocks and waits a few moments before they answer, giving her looks as they answer the door and notices it was her. "Ummm, hey. I wanted to offer a peace offering to you and the kids. They seem to not like me or trust me and I honestly have no idea why, so I made this cake for you all to enjoy." She passes the box over to the mother who was there and tries to keep things easy going, so they didn't suspect anything.

The mother opens the box seeing the chocolate cake and grins slightly. "Well thank you. Our kids definitely don't trust you. Even I'm not entirely sure why. I have seen no reasons to think you've done anything bad, so why they think you have, I'm not entirely sure. We will definitely enjoy this though. Would appear you were quite busy on this." The parents nod to the girl a moment before Wasp heads back to her own pod.

It was the next morning before she heard anything bad. There was a lot of screaming coming from the other pods, some of it not making any sense. She peeks out looking tired and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She glances over, seeing the medical trolls carrying the parents and kids from the one pod, each of them bleeding from the mouth and no colors. Clearly the herbs had done their job and wiped out the family. Wasp runs out trying to pretend to be worried about them. She happens to glance inside the pod, noticing the empty box and cake platter on the table, the only remains of the cake being crumbs. She backs up a moment when the medical trolls carry out the 3 kids, all of them covered in blood from the mouth and from their rears, having bled out in more than one location.

The medical trolls all glance at Wasp with varying expressions. Some with suspicion and others with concern. The loss of the three kids of this family lowered the number of trollings in the village considerably. They weren't sure what was going on, but some of them were worried that other trollings would wind up being killed off too. It made the parents of the remaining trollings even more protective, especially King Aspen and Queen Cherry. None of them wanted to risk losing any of the remaining kids. Wasp looks around worried, thinking if she pretended like this, it would keep suspicions off her for at least a while longer. With a whole family being wiped out, she would need to wait even longer before striking again. Five losses at one time was a huge deal for an already small colony.

King Aspen sighs and walks to the carved desk and grabs some paper and his quill pen again, sending King Peppy a letter. He didn't want to risk anything happening to the other colony. He picks up the pen and starts writing. 'King Peppy, I realize it's been some time since our last communication, but this is of utmost importance. One month ago, we gained a new member to our colony. Some of the kids did not trust her, but for the most part, she has not shown anything that would be considered suspicious. However, one of the trollings died within a few days of her arrival. Today, we lost an entire family of 5. Three of them were trollings between the ages of 10 and 12. The other two was their parents. The girl was acting worried about the family, but her actions are quite suspicious now. We will be keeping a close eye on her and be even more protective of our remaining trollings. We are especially going to be keeping an eye on Prince Branch and Prince Sky. I fear that if this girl really is to blame for the deaths of that family, she won't stop with them. When she arrived, she claimed her colony was wiped out by Bergen's. As believable as that is, we suspect now that it may not be the entire truth, if at all. The medics, when they healed her upon her arrival, said many of her injuries looked self-inflicted. We cannot prove this right now, but we wanted to make sure you were aware. If things continue as they are here, our colony will be at huge risk of being wiped out. We will try to keep you informed. Keep safe my friend.'

King Aspen looks over the letter before signing his name to it. He attaches it to the dragonfly he had been using and sends it off to King Peppy's colony, hoping things got better from here on out. He feared for the worse though, a feeling he didn't like at all.

...  
*shudders* the further into this I go, the more I wanna see her dead lol


	6. chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A calm spell before the storm settles over the Aspen colony.

Wasp was going stir crazy. It was 2 weeks after the family of five had been killed off and the other trolls in the colony suspected her so much, every time she went outside, they would watch her every move. Staying inside was all she could do at this point, at least till things calmed down. She grabs a notepad and starts writing down names. The newest trollings were already getting on her nerves, so she figured she might be able to eventually pick them off. Oak and Sage were the most annoying, constantly crying and making a lot of noise. Her aggravation grew by the day. She had overheard about the birth of a dwarf trolling in the other colony, the parents of which had originally been part of this colony. She grumbles slightly thinking about the trolling. "Jadice... he's lucky he's at the other colony. Now Jade on the other hand is still here." She looks through some notes and notices Jade was a cousin to Jadice. Taking him out would definitely raise a ruckus but he was another one she couldn't stand. "Can't risk doing anything for a while. I might have to wait a couple years, darn it all. Those royal siblings too, Sky and Branch... hmm.. might have to do something about them too. Without an heir to the throne, if anything happens to the King and Queen, this colony will crumble." She smirks slightly but knew she'd have to bide her time and wait. If she tried to target the royal twins now, she would have serious issues.

It was 3 years later when Wasp got sick of waiting. Her patience had reached a breaking point and she was eager to do away with those annoying trollings and maybe even their parents along with them. She had gained back some of the trust of the colony by staying away from everyone and proving she wasn't a threat. Little did they know of the plans she had for some of their members. She had learned how to be even more sneaky over the last couple years. She made some skin sacks that could hold water and lined the inside of a couple of them with poison. Nobody would know the poison was there till it was too late. The poison she lined the inside of the sacks with had no color, no flavor, and no scent. She joins a few of the families down to the river to collect water and fills up the sacks with it. She noticed the families she wanted to target had forgotten their water bottles so she passes the sacks of water to them. They had seen her fill the sacks, so they took them without hesitation, thanking her for her consideration. There was enough poison in the sacks and now in the water to kill at least 20 trolls. Lucky for Wasp, the family had 12 adults and 4 trollings.. Oak and Sage being 2 of those trollings. She'd be able to wipe out quite a few with ease.

The next morning, the trolls came out of their pods as normal to greet the day in singing and dancing. They get curious when the large pod of the family of 16 didn't come out to join them. They got more and more concerned as the day dragged on and still no signs of them. Wasp had decided to help some of the other trolls with doing laundry to make it look like she was innocent of any wrong doing. A couple scouts, having been alerted to a possible problem with the large family, goes inside the pod. Within moments, they were running out of the pod and heading straight to the royal pod not too far away. King Aspen himself runs over towards the pod to see the issue firsthand before walking out, looking extremely pale and like he was going to be sick. Not only was everyone inside the pod dead, the poison from the skin bottles had eaten holes through the stomach and abdomens of each and every troll in there. The trollings were the worst off, their lower halves looking like they had melted from the inside out. Internal organs and blood was everywhere inside the pod and the smell was enough to repulse even carrion birds.

King Aspen warns everyone around to not go inside the pod. They would have to find out what happened before anyone could go inside for any reason. He glances over towards Wasp, seeing her back turned to him and helping with laundry, acting like she knew nothing of what was going on. He gets a suspicious look on his face again. It had been 3 years and she hadn't showed any signs of anything bad, and now suddenly out of the blue, a whole family of 16 trolls turns up dead. He would get to the bottom of things, even if it was the last thing he did. He whispers to his guards to keep a close eye on Wasp, informing them of his suspicions once again. They nod and stand guard close by, pretending to be watching everyone. During that time, King Aspen heads to his study and writes another letter to King Peppy.

'King Peppy, I bring another bit of bad news my friend. It's been 3 quiet years with no issues until today. This morning, my scouts discovered one of our largest families, a family of 16 members, all dead in their pod. It appeared they had been melted from the inside out, like they ate or drank something that was laced with poison or acid. It's hard to determine which it was or even who did it. Events from 3 years ago though makes me suspect that Wasp has gotten tired of waiting and has decided to strike again. This is however speculation as we still have no proof that it's her who is responsible, but it fits the pattern of the deaths from before. I am going to start sending some of my colony members in your direction. With it being warm weather at this time, it should be safe for them to travel. Please inform me when they arrive. I plan to start out small and send a couple families your way, mainly ones with trollings. We don't want to risk losing any more of our kids. I will send Laurel, Citrine, Jade, and their parents and family. Thats 3 families that will be coming your way. All in all, their families total to 63 trolls. Hopefully they will all reach you safely. I can't risk keeping them here, not with the knowledge that they may be targeted next. Keep me informed my friend and I will try to do likewise.' King Aspen reads over the letter and nods after making sure it sounded okay and sends it off to King Peppy's colony.

Once King Aspen was certain the letter was on its way, he quickly informs the families of his plans. They start packing immediately, being careful to not alert Wasp of what they were doing. They didn't want her to know they were leaving just in case she tried to prevent them from going anywhere. They, like the KIng, were concerned that Wasp was responsible for the deaths of the other family. They put Citrine, Jade, and Laurel into their hair since they were still too young to make that kind of journey on foot themselves. They sneak away around the back end of the tree, making sure Wasp didn't see them leave and disappearing quickly into the shrubs. Such a large number was bound to attract attention, but they were hoping to make it to the other colony without mishaps.

Wasp happens to glance in the direction they had gone, seeing the large backpacks they had with them and noticing how many were in the group. She quickly pretends to not have seen them leave and keeps busy, wanting to keep up the illusion of her being a good girl for as long as possible. She was mentally furious though at the idea that so many escaped her. She was not going to let them all get away. She had big plans for the remainder of the colony, that is if they didn't escape as well.

...  
Boop... and she is seriously up to no good now. *shudders*


	7. chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wasp learns that even trollings can be a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to be doing a couple time skips here, and gonna end things for Wasp by the hands of a trolling... a very feisty and protective trolling at that. Who would think a child only a little over 3 years old could be so much trouble huh? lol :)

Wasp was furious and she was not going to let things just slide. She lost her chance at wiping out this entire colony because of her paranoia about being caught. She berates herself for not poisoning the water supply right from the start and just eliminating the entire colony. Downside to that plan, she found out their water supply was a freshwater spring that was constantly flowing. Tainting a water supply that was constantly in motion was near impossible. She glances around, noticing some of the other trolls monitoring her and pretending not to be. She rolls her eyes at that, knowing they weren't very good at pretending. She glances around at the remaining trolls, noticing the only two trollings left in the village now were Sky and Branch. She couldn't stand those two. Granted they were just kids, but she couldn't tolerate any form of leadership, especially not royalty. The idea that she hated kids in general as well didn't help matters. Just being around any kids pissed her off and made her want to strangle them with her hair.

Finishing up with the laundry she was working on, she heads back to her pod and locks herself in. Various trolls watched her while she went to the pod, worried about what she might be plotting behind closed doors. She grabs some paper and a pen and starts writing a letter to her uncle who lived not too far away. 'Uncle Tourmaline, you're pretty much the only one who understands me so I will make this short. I likely won't survive much longer. I have been watched constantly lately and I think they know what I did now. I am going to attempt to target the remaining trollings of this village. Those two are royals, the prince's of the village. By getting rid of the trollings, I can essentially destroy this village. If anything happens to their King and Queen and they have no heir to take over, the village will crumble. Some of the trolls of this village headed East which I know is the direction you are in. There is a large group of them, uncertain on the exact numbers. Now would be a good time to pick them off before they reach the other village they are heading towards. If you don't hear from me again, you will know what happened here. Good luck uncle and happy hunting.'

She looks over the letter and slips it into an envelope before sending it off with her own personal firefly. She hoped it made it to him before the group of trolls reached him. She wanted to make sure he was aware of their approach. If she couldn't get them, her uncle definitely would. He had gained a bad reputation, coming to be known as Tourmaline the Torturer. He basically dismembered his victims, eating the hearts and livers of them and scattering the body parts in random areas. He was silent and lethal. Usually he used traps to snare his victims and then either raped them if he liked how they looked, or just dismembered them in front of their family to get his point across that nobody was to trifle with him. He was well known in this area. Anyone who was lucky enough to escape him usually had nightmares for a long time afterwards. Those were the lucky ones. The ones not so lucky were dismembered and their body parts were scattered around the village in which they came from as a reminder to other trolls that he was there and watching.

She smirks all evil like at the thought of her uncle. It was him who inspired her to be the way she is. After being abused by her parents and colony members, it pushed her over the edge and caused her to go on a mass killing spree in her former colony. She had poisoned the water supply that they had, making sure to it that nobody saw her doing so. Her uncle was the only one who knew of her plans. He had encouraged her to do it, not caring about his brother in the slightest, calling him weak and pathetic. Bumble, Wasp's father, was the main abuser, going out of his way to beat Wasp every day for anything he deemed fit, real or imagined. In Tourmaline's view, he wasn't worth the effort of saving, being nothing more than a waste of space. Bee, Wasp's mother, sided with Bumble all the time, blaming Wasp of being a bad girl and deserving the punishment she always got. Bee didn't care if the things being accused were real or not, she actually enjoyed watching Wasp get beaten, not having wanted to birth her in the first place. When her parents died due to the tainted water, Wasp couldn't have been happier. All her problems died along with her parents and her colony, that was until now.

Within an hour, her firefly came back bearing a letter in return. She grins and opens it up. 'Wasp, it's great to hear from you, and sorry I cannot do anything to help your situation. I will keep on the lookout though for the group of trolls. If any of them survive at all, it won't be many. If by some miracle you should live, come East and we will meet up. You have done well lately. Word of your killing spree in the Aspen colony has even reached my ears but you know as well as I do, that all good things eventually must end. You have done me proud and it'll be sad to hear of your passing should it come to that. I wish you the best of luck in your final spree. Even I know, this attempt on the royal family will likely be your last attempt entirely. Rest easy knowing I will avenge you later when they come towards my area. I will be waiting.'

Wasp grins and hides the letter, knowing that if the letter was found, her uncle would be at risk of being found. She decides to burn the letter, ensuring it was nothing more than a pile of ashes when she was done with it. She was leaving no traces of it so people wouldn't know about her uncle until it was too late. If anyone knew he was related to her, it could spell immediate disaster for her before she could even make the attempt on the royal trollings.

It took Wasp another week to set up her plan for the remainder of the colony that was still there. Another 2 families had escaped her during the past week and she had kept her uncle informed. The first group had reached him a few days ago and of the 63 of them, only 6 escaped him, 3 of which were the trollings and the other 3 their mothers. The mothers unfortunately had been raped and likely impregnated in the process, but at least they were alive with their babies. The other two families that had escaped Wasp weren't lucky enough to make it to King Peppy's village. Multiple letters back and forth between King Aspen and King Peppy occurred over that week, reporting the deaths of those that had tried to make the trip. No further families were sent, fearing the same thing would happen to all of them. Of the original 300 in the colony, only 140 still remained and Wasp wasn't finished with her rampage yet.

Within another couple days, Wasp had set in motion her final attempt. She grabs her knife and slips it into her hair, wanting to end this as quickly as possible. She glances around making sure nobody was around before making her way towards the royal pod. Her ears twitch in random directions as she keeps tabs on everything around her. She silently sneaks into the royal pod, making her way down the hallway as quietly as possible. She spots a large room at one end with a crown mark on it and a smaller room to the left of it which had the sleeping twin boys. She sneaks over and gets ready to slaughter the young boy. She hears a thump behind her as she raises her knife to kill Prince Sky and glances behind her, noticing Branch standing there looking very pissed off that she was in there threatening his brother. Hearing the thump, King Aspen runs into the room as well and sees what Wasp was about to do. Noticing Branch there and awake, King Aspen doesn't move in case Wasp tried to kill them all. What occurred next was a blur. Wasp crouched down, ready to take out Branch since he was the biggest threat at the moment, only to stumble back with her hands to her throat and blood streaming down her neck and chest. She looks up in shock at the 3 year old trolling who was holding a bloody knife before collapsing on the ground. Branch walks over and nudges her with his foot. "You won't hurt my brother or my family." He moves aside as his father comes over and decapitates Wasp, making sure the job was finished.

Their troubles over, they didn't even bother to try to bury Wasp. Instead, they fed her remains to the local incinerator plants, ensuring that there was no traces of her. King Aspen sends another letter to King Peppy, informing him that Wasp was dead and by the hands of his 3 year old son, Branch. Branch was considered a hero by the remainder of the colony and as such, was kept protected. Sky was under the protection of Branch and the colony together. With Sky having been the most vulnerable at that time, Branch took on the role of protector. 

This continued for the next 15 years until Sky and Branch both turned 18 years old. They had all kept in constant communication with King Peppy, having been informed that the mothers of the trollings who had joined them years ago had become pregnant by Tourmaline. Two of the 3 trollings were just like their father and were showing hateful tendencies. They had already killed off over a hundred of King Peppy's colony and had recently been executed themselves. Tourmaline the Torturer was still out there, randomly picking off trolls from King Peppy's colony. Because of situations getting worse, King Peppy decided it was time to move the colony once again, heading towards the mountains and the valley that lay within its confines. Word was sent to King Aspen to tell him of the move and well wishes were given as well, hoping they would soon find their way to the valley as well.

...  
*shudders* lots of chaos.. and a little inside peek at part 2 lol


	8. chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another threat pushes the Aspen colony out of its comfort zone.

It had been 15 years since Wasp had been killed, following her slaughter of many of their colony and the deaths of the colony members who had attempted to go join King Peppy. In that time, a troll named Thorn had entered the area. He was one of Wasp's many cousins and was very much like her and Tourmaline. He was green in color with blue eyes and mint green hair. His looks caused many to think that maybe he was safe to be around, but like Wasp, looks could be very deceptive. He wanted to take revenge on the Aspen colony for killing off his cousin. His uncle Tourmaline was also aware of Wasp's death and was not pleased, having been the one to inform Thorn about the issue. Thorn was now out to seek vengeance against the colony, not caring who he targeted. He was very skilled at keeping hidden and making things look like random accidents.

His initial assessment of the colony was that they had regained some of their numbers too quickly. He could easily see that over the last 15 years, they had produced 25 new trollings, many of which were now young teens. Some of them were between the ages of 8 and 10 as well. He keeps under cover and watches the colony, noticing the twin Prince's of the colony. He was excellent at drawing and quickly sketches out a picture of the twins while hidden in his hair and then adds color to show what they looked like at that time. His gaze fell on Sky first, noticing the way the hair was slightly different than that of his brother Branch. Where Branch's hair had the appearance of a flower in bloom, Sky's hair resembled more of a flower bud preparing to bloom but not quite ready yet. Knowing what his uncle Tourmaline liked, he could easily picture his uncle taking advantage of one or both of the twins sexually. His uncle's colors combined with the colors that Sky and Branch had could easily produce a child of exquisite beauty, if his uncle got lucky enough to get his hands on one or both of them. He was hoping to help make that happen.

Looking around some more, he notices where they got their water from and strikes that out as a possibility for revenge. The food stocks however, he noticed they were placed in a special pod lower down in the tree for winter usage. There was currently snow on the ground, so the stock they had would have to last till Spring at least. If it didn't, they would have to move. The idea of them having to move in the cold months of winter was enough to make an evil smile cross his face. The idea was genius, making them move during the winter could definitely be a problem for them. Most trolls didn't dare move during the winter. Lack of food, lack of moving water, and the cold temperatures were all factors that could work against them. Thorn was so used to the cold temperatures, they didn't bother him in the slightest. He could easily hide in snow drifts and not get cold. He had an uncanny ability to regulate his body temperature so even if he was out in the cold, his internal temperature would stay warm enough to keep him alive.

He waits a while till he didn't see anyone moving around, then changes his hiding location. He quickly sends off the sketched picture to his uncle so he could see for himself and then finds another location to hide. It was a few days after mid-winter at that point and the temperatures were staying really low. Most of the trolls in the village stayed inside their pods unless they had no choice but to wander out for food and water. Sky and Branch had taken it on themselves to make sure the colony was kept supplied during this time. With all the new trollings in the village, they didn't want to risk any of them getting sick in the lower than average temperatures.

Thorn waited till nightfall before venturing up into the tree. Everyone had already went to their pods for the night, knowing how cold it got during the later hours after dark. He makes his way into the food pod, grabs some of it for himself, then sets fire to the rest. He takes off out of the food pod and back down to a vantage point to watch just in time to watch the entire pod burst up in flames. The raging fire drew the attention of the colony, getting startled screams from many. King Aspen and his guards and scouts try to douse the flames as quickly as they could, hoping to not lose the entire food stock that would have to last them till Spring, but within a short time, the fire went out on its own from the cold temperatures, leaving nothing behind but a ruined shell of the pod and piles of ashes where the food stocks once stood inside.

Seeing the state of the food pod, King Aspen holds an emergency meeting of everyone in the colony. He ushers them up into the higher structure where they could all fit, trollings included. "We have a serious problem. I have no idea what started the fire, but we just lost our entire food stock that was to last us till Spring. I suspect someone set fire to it, but since nobody was seen, it can't be proved. As a result of this, we will have to do the unthinkable and move from this location. Tomorrow we will pack up everything we can and start moving East towards the mountains. Hopefully, with enough luck, we can catch up to King Peppy and his colony. We will try to find whatever food we can along the way. Unfortunately, we will be going into dangerous territory. To the east of us lies the territory of Tourmaline the Torturer. We have to get through his region before we can get to the mountains further East. It'll be a dangerous trip and very cold. Make sure to bundle up as much as you can. We will leave when everyone is ready to go. Anyone with less items, please help those with more than you have to lighten their load. Only carry what you need or cannot replace. Anything replaceable, leave it behind. We don't want to overburden ourselves with unnecessary items. We need to move quickly and quietly as possible. Unfortunately, there will also be many predators on this path. Tokami are a main predator as we get closer to the forested regions and mountains. Do not trust caves as any of them could be the home of Tourmaline. Do not trust any trolls we meet along the way until we are certain of who they are and where they came from. We must leave nothing to chance. If by some miracle someone from King Peppy's colony finds us and helps us back to them, then we'll be lucky, but I don't see it happening. I will send an emergency letter to King Peppy explaining our situation and hopefully he will receive it in a timely fashion. Be ready to leave by first light if possible."

The members of the colony look at each other scared, not sure what to expect. Sky and Branch were looking around and seeing the reactions, not liking the idea of having to move in winter. They feared the worst and pretty soon they would have to face the dangers of the unknown in Tourmaline's territory.

...  
Uh Oh... here comes trouble lol :)


	9. chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trolls encounter a problem that will force them to travel for a longer time than originally planned.

By the next morning, the Aspen colony was ready to move. They had decided to bury any pods that were visible from the ground so that way, if anyone came looking for them, they wouldn't be able to see visible proof that they had been there. They had felt a massive earthquake during that night, but lucky for them, their homes were intact. The now scared and wary trolls were huddled together, making sure to stay in a group for warmth and protection. All of them, including the trollings, had put on multiple layers of clothing so that they could survive the colder temperatures. They gather the group on the ground and then start making their way towards the mountains far off in the distance to the East.

Roughly 10 miles away on the far side of the giant chasm that had opened during the earthquake was Tourmaline's lair. He wakes up to bright sunshine and snow at his cave entrance. He also noticed the messenger bug that his nephew Thorn often used. Seeing the rolled up paper on the front of the bug, he reaches over and takes it off, carefully unrolling it to view the picture on it. He raises an eye at the picture, noticing the differences between the two on the paper, but also noticing that other than 1 or 2 details, they were identical in every other way. The message at the bottom of the picture made him smile slightly. "Uncle Tourmaline, these two are Prince Sky and Prince Branch of the Aspen colony. I know your preference when it comes to male trolls and knew these two may be of interest to you. I will try to push their colony towards your lair. However, if anything out of the ordinary occurs, it may take a while to get them there. I will keep you informed along the way."

Tourmaline chuckles darkly, knowing that Thorn would do just that, and push them towards him. He licks his lips a bit and runs his hand along the picture, especially along the edge of Branch's face on the image. He definitely liked what he was seeing and knew his nephew was an excellent artist. For him to draw them wrong would be unheard of for Thorn, so Tourmaline had no doubts that the twin Prince's were definitely as nice to look at in person as they were on this picture, if not more so. He writes a quick reply, knowing that what Thorn had done the night prior would cause the colony to start moving again. "Thorn, make sure they all arrive safely. The earthquake that occurred last night created a giant chasm between my lair and where that colony is. They will find it roughly 5 miles from where they are. Going north for them is not an option as its a large forest full of Tokami and other predators. Going south to get around the chasm will be their only option. I sent out my scout bugs and they came back indicating the chasm is so large, it will take that colony close to a year to get around it and start making their way towards the mountains again. They will be super close to Bergentown. They won't trust you, especially after what happened with Wasp, so trying to join up with them and warning them will do you no good. Stay away from them but still keep an eye on their progress. I will keep in touch and will expect you to do the same." Finishing up the letter, he signs it and sends it off with Thorn's bug back to him.

Back at the colony, they were starting to make their trip towards the East, making sure to keep an eye on where they were going. The earthquake and the fire from the night before had them all spooked and they were overly paranoid. Sky was up at the front of the colony with Aspen and Cherry while Branch stayed near the back, making sure nobody lagged behind. Branch was the one to spot the messenger bug and raises an eye seeing it carrying a message. It disappears from view making him concerned that the message was for someone that was either following them, monitoring them, or both. He keeps his ears twitching in random directions, listening for any sounds out of the ordinary. With the colony traveling during the colder months, he wasn't entirely certain what all may be out prowling, looking for an easy meal. A colony of trolls would be easy pickings for many predators and they all knew that. They were so jumpy, that even snow falling off tree limbs and splatting on the ground caused them to squeak and jump, looking around with scared looks for what made the sound.

It took them several hours to reach the massive chasm that had opened up. King Aspen moves towards it, noticing how wide it was and how deep. He knew there was no way they would be able to just cross it. He glances north and spots the forest, immediately shaking his head no at that idea because of the predators that lurked in there. It was a shorter distance around the chasm, yes, but in all likelihood, they wouldn't survive to reach the other side of it. He glances towards the south next, noticing the distance they would have to travel but also how it appeared much safer for them. He weighs out the pro's and con's in his head at both directions and decides their best choice would be to travel south. He had no idea that near the bottom of the chasm to the south, they would be within a mile of Bergentown. 

Walking over to the group, King Aspen gets their attention. "Alright everyone, we have an issue here. This chasm is much too large to cross. We could go north but the forest is too dense and likely contains Tokami and many other predators. We likely would not survive going through there. Our only other option is to head south. It appears to be a much longer distance and will likely take quite some time to reach the bottom, but it's likely going to be the safer of the two options. I want everyone to stay close together. If you hear anything out of the ordinary, you are to hide. If you see anything that could be considered a threat, then hide as quickly as possible. I am sorry to say that once he reach the other side, we will have a problem to face. We will be entering the territory of Tourmaline the torturer. It will be some time before we reach his area, but once we get close, do not trust anyone that comes up to us. Nobody has seen Tourmaline and lived other than the 6 that joined King Peppy's colony years ago. Not many of you know the story of Tourmaline, so we will inform you as we get further into our trip. Hopefully we will be able to make it through his territory without issue once we get to that point. In the meantime though, lets work on getting around this chasm."

The colony starts making their way towards the south, realizing with each passing day just how far they would have to go. The colder temperatures receded the further south they went, replaced by moderately warm temperatures. The chasm seemed to stretch on for many, many miles. As the days turned into weeks and then months, they questioned if and when they would ever reach the bottom. It was 5 months into their journey that they reached the bottom of the chasm, only to come into full view of their worst nightmare.... Bergentown. They were easily within a mile of the large city and could hear the Bergen's stomping around inside the confines of the city and on the outer edges of it. Making their way quickly around the bottom edge of the chasm, they take off running back towards the north, eagerly wanting to put some distance between themselves and Bergentown. Thorn was watching from a distance and smirks when he sees the troll colony scatter back towards the north after going around the bottom of the chasm. He didn't have to do a thing to push them that way. Seeing Bergentown was enough incentive to make them choose that path, a path that would eventually be the deaths of many of them.

...  
boop.. next lol :)


	10. chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trolls make a fast trip back towards the north but encounter small issues along their way

The trip heading back north was as bad as it had been going south to get around the chasm. The terrain was rough, the plants thick and hard to navigate through, and the predators were becoming increasingly active throughout the day. The warmer temperatures had pulled them out for the season, causing the already scared Aspen colony trolls to be so paranoid, they were having issues even sleeping at night. One of their elderly trolls had met an untimely demise to an owl during the night. The elderly lady had gone down to the local stream to get a drink and had been scooped up. She hadn't even seen the predator coming and was dead before she could even scream. Her absence was noticed the next morning when they went to start moving again. All they found of her was her water bottle down by the streams edge and a small amount of blood.

One evening, about a month after their return towards the North, King Aspen decided it was time to tell everyone about Tourmaline. Many of the colony already knew about him, but many others did not. He wanted to make sure they all knew the severe danger they would have to face once they reached that territory.

"Alright, tonight I will tell you all about Tourmaline the Torturer. I know some of you know about him already, but many of you do not. Now is your chance to find out the danger we will all be in soon enough. Tourmaline actually used to be a good troll when he was growing up, that was until he hit his teen years and started getting abused by his family and his colony. He came to hate everyone, wanting to take vengeance on anyone that he didn't like the looks of or that reminded him of those that tortured him. When he first started, he would just take knives and slice them in vital areas, making them slowly bleed out over a duration of sometimes hours. He wanted to make sure they suffered before they died. Over time, he started taking off body parts, starting small with things like their ears, their hands or feet, and then steadily went larger from there. After a time, he started taking off entire arms, legs, even their heads. Some of the torso's of his victims were found with their livers and hearts cut out of them. A couple of those had notes attached saying the livers and hearts made an excellent meal and he'd be back for more later. Trolls around the area then labeled him as Tourmaline the Torturer, because of his love of torturing his victims. Finding scattered body parts around the colony that the victims came from followed soon after, often times with a note that said he was watching them and if anyone came looking for him, they would meet the same fate. The only trolls ever to survive an encounter with him was usually the ones he deemed worthy. The worthy ones often times prayed for death as they were victims of rape, being impregnated by Tourmaline. Most of the time, the resulting trollings were just as evil and cruel as Tourmaline himself. We found out he has a preference for both genders, so no troll is safe from him if he wants to claim them." 

He glances at all the wide eyed, scared looks of the colony, including those of his own son's. He was worried about his boys most as they were the best looking out of all the trolls that remained in their colony. "I fear the worst for all of us. Some of us may get lucky and get away, but I fear at least half of us will not make it to King Peppy's colony. The last letter I got from him, they had continued on their way to the East. Apparently Tourmaline had attacked his village, killing over a hundred of his own. We need to be cautious the closer we get to his lair. It's said he puts traps in various areas, some of the traps capable to decapitating a troll or a predator when its set off. We wouldn't even have to see Tourmaline to get killed off. The traps he leaves would be enough to wipe us out with ease. Do not trust anyone that we come across and do not trust caves or holes in the trees. Any of those could be the home of Tourmaline."

Over the course of the next few months, the weather started getting cold again. As midwinter approached, the colony decided to celebrate midwinter like they used to do, as this might be their last chance to celebrate anything before entering Tourmaline's lair. The idea that it was also Sky and Branch's 19th birthday kinda helped too. It gave them more a reason to celebrate the day. As midwinter day began, the trolls decided to stall their progress north and celebrated the birthday of their Prince's and the coming of midwinter. They were all back to being bundled up again so they wouldn't get overly cold from the temperatures and were grateful to be back in semi-familiar territory, even if it was dangerously close to Tourmaline's lair. 

Looking across the chasm after they started moving again, they noticed they were within a couple miles of their starting point almost a year ago. The river they were close to was also flowing dangerously high. Anyone going down to get water would have to be very careful. It was that same day that King Aspen and Queen Cherry went down to the river to collect water and tripped over a cord of some kind. It sent them both plummeting into the 25 degree water, causing them to scramble to grab rocks and vines to keep them from being swept away downriver. Luckily, a couple of the colony was there to help them out of the water, but the damage was already done. King Aspen and Queen Cherry were soaked down to the bone and severely cold. The colony members do what they could to bundle them up, setting up a temporary medical pod to house the royal parents. Their trip north would have to wait till the King and Queen were okay again, if that even happened.

Within a couple days, it was obvious the King and Queen had wound up with severe pneumonia. Branch and Sky walk into the medical pod to check on them, worried that they may not live to see another day. It was a month past midwinter, now almost to the latter part of January. Things were not looking good for any of them. The severely cold temperatures were just making their conditions worse by the day. Knowing this, the King had summoned Branch and Sky to him to make a decision that would affect the entire colony.

King Aspen glances over at his boys as they enter, encouraged by the idea they came together and also had several guards around them. He needed to make sure there was witnesses to what he was about to do. "My boys, things are not looking good for me and your mother." His voice was very raspy as he spoke, followed by coughing every so often. "Branch, you were the first we saw when the two of you were born. As such, you would be the one to take over as King in my place. Sky, if anything happens to Branch, you would then take over as the colonies King." He turns and coughs violently, spitting up blood as he does so. "As of today Branch, I pass my crown to you. You are now King of this colony. I would hope you would lead it as well as you have been during your time as Prince. Sky, like I said before, if anything happens to Branch, you will be the next King of the colony. I know typically you have to be 21 to be King and that you are only 19, but situations have forced me to pass the crown to you early. I fear that me and your mother will not recover from this." He turns and starts sobbing when he notices his beautiful Queen take her last breaths and lose her color at the same time. "Take care of this colony my son's. I will be watching you from the next life."

Sky and Branch look on in shock as their mother passed on, the shock of her passing and Branch being made King startling them into silence. They stay close to Aspen's bedside, holding his hands until his own passing a couple hours later. The pneumonia had been too severe and they didn't have the medicine to counteract the effects of it. Branch and Sky break down crying as they lose their father, losing their own colors at the same time. The guards that were there as witnesses go out and inform the colony of the change of leadership and the loss of their King and Queen. The colony loses its colors in mourning, knowing that Heaven gained a great King and Queen that day. The idea that Branch was now King weighed heavy on their minds. Many knew he was still very young, but knew he would make a great King with the right support.

Thorn listens from his hiding place and notices Prince Sky, King Branch, and the entire colony go gray in mourning. He writes a quick letter to his uncle and sends it off to keep him informed on the changes as well. He knew his uncle would be eager now to get his hands on the new King and lay claim to him. Forcing a royal in that way could have 2 effects. It would either cause the colony to come together even stronger to protect their King or it would cause the colony to crumble. Things were about to go from bad to much worse for the colony as they soon would be entering Tourmaline's lair.

...  
*shudders and sniffles*


	11. chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trolls of the Aspen colony enter the lair of Tourmaline

Still gray from grief, the Aspen colony starts moving towards the East again. Branch, having been made King just a couple days prior, takes the lead while Sky follows up behind in case of stragglers. The colony was quiet, not wanting to risk any predators finding them. The moment they spot puddles of dried up blood, they knew they had entered Tourmaline's lair. Any time any of them heard anything out of the ordinary, they went into hiding. Their current gray states made them overly paranoid, more so than they typically would have been in these situations. The gray states also helped them to blend into their surroundings easier, making them look more like the trees and dead shrubbery that surrounded them. As they looked around, they didn't like what they saw.

The sight of some of their own colony members strung up on trees by their entrails caused them to cringe. Some got really sick from the sight of it and the kids hid behind their parents, trying to not look at it. Considering it was all around them in this area though, it was near impossible not to see it. Several trees were covered in vines, body parts entangled in them. The heads were sitting on spikes partly embedded in the ground, almost like trophies being displayed. The trolls that were dead here ranged in ages, from older trolls all the way down to trollings that likely were no older than 10 years old.

As they progressed through the area, they kept noticing various caves and holes in trees large enough to be used as a lair. Several times, they heard movement off to one side of them, only settling a little when it showed up as being some of the local wildlife. Most of the wildlife there was small squirrels, rabbits, and the occasional chipmunk. The whole colony was on edge at that point and their gray states made their paranoia worse. The first hour was quiet enough, almost too quiet except for the random wildlife running through the area. The eerie silence had everyone on edge, especially Branch. He had only been King for a couple days and already was questioning if he would be as good a King as his father had been. He didn't want to let anyone down and mentally was telling himself that he would do whatever it takes to keep the rest of the colony safe, even if it meant doing the unthinkable.

By the second hour, the colony started encountering problems. One of the middle aged trolls got caught in a snare and got tangled so badly, they didn't even have time to scream before they were ripped apart into multiple pieces. The trolls head rolling along the ground past a few of them scared them enough to make them scream in terror. Within moments, Branch was doing everything he could to quiet them down but it was already too late. Several of the colony members gulp and back up when they spot the green troll ahead of them. Turning around, Branch comes face to face with Tourmaline, the one troll he was hoping to never see.

Branch quickly puts himself between Tourmaline and the colony, wanting to make sure they were kept protected from harm. The look on Tourmaline's face was almost unreadable. He was eyeing up Branch like he was appraising him, looking him up and down like he was admiring a precious gem or treasure. Noticing the brother, Tourmaline's gaze wanders over to Sky a moment, seeing the guarded expressions on both of their faces. He was totally going to enjoy this. He looks around at the terrified faces of the other colony members, smirking slightly as they cringe when he looks their way. His eyes scan over each of them, appraising them just by look alone. Even gray, he could easily tell that Branch and Sky were the best looking of all of them. "You're in my territory. Not a smart idea to say the least. Most who enter here don't survive. Now, what ever were you thinking coming through here?" He tried to sound reasonable, but the slight undertone of aggression came through that he would hurt them if he didn't get the answers he wanted.

Branch glances at everyone a moment and ushers them back a bit. "We're heading East. Going through your territory was the only route we could take that was even remotely safe enough to travel on. The other routes had Bergen's or major predators that we didn't want to risk being caught by." He eyes up Tourmaline a moment seeing the decision making process at work in his eyes.

"I see then. Can't say I blame you for not wanting to travel through Bergen territory, but coming through my territory could cost you dearly. You see, I don't like people going through my area. I usually slaughter anyone who tries. I might be willing to make an exception though for whats left of your colony." He glances at Branch again and licks his lips slightly. "I'll make you a deal. I'll let them live and pass through my territory unharmed.. but only under one condition."

Branch shudders, not liking the tone he was hearing but decided to take the risk anyways. "What condition would that be?" He was concerned he already knew and the growing smirk on Tourmaline's face did nothing to alleviate the paranoia he was feeling.

Tourmaline glances around a moment then locks eyes with Branch. "I'll let them pass through here and live... if YOU stay here with me. Surely you'd realize that one life for.. what is it? A couple hundred here? Surely one life for so many is worth it? You stay.. and they can leave unharmed." He chuckles hearing the protests from the colony, smirking a moment when Branch raises his hand to silence them.

Branch turns to the colony and locks eyes with his brother, having already told him the previous day that if this happened, Sky was to lead the colony away from there and find King Peppy's colony and keep heading East. Sky didn't look happy about it, but knew it had to be done. He would try to avoid disappointing his brother and nods slightly to him knowing what the unspoken question was. Turning back to Tourmaline, he eyes him up carefully. "You give them time to get out of your territory and nobody will get hurt, thats what you're saying yes?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. In return for my ignorance of their being here in my area, I keep you for whatever reasons I want." He licks his lips again, seeing Branch usher Sky and the colony members around him and towards the East again. "Seems you're already making your choice. I need you to say it though."

"Fine, I'll stay, but that does not mean I am going to willingly submit to you. If you go back on your word, I will make sure to it that you die." He defiantly stares down Tourmaline, earning himself a smirk and a nod.

"Fine, they better hurry though or I might change my mind. As for you, willing or not, you will submit to my desires." He ushers the colony away before dragging Branch towards a nearby cave.

The colony makes a fast escape, being led away by Sky and praying they would eventually see Branch again. A loud scream of pain echoes from the cave he was dragged into but they didn't want to risk being caught and killed and so prayed that their King would survive and manage to make it back to them again.

...  
End of part 1. Part 2 will pick up from this point.


End file.
